from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English

from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

Abounding in whelks, pustules, or blisters.

Formed like a whelk; hence, knobby; rounded.

Etymologies

whelk +‎ -y (Wiktionary)

Examples

Pluck, unmoved in humor by the coolness of the drench, stood sunk to his chin in the snow, and laughed as heartily as any of them, his shining bald pate and whelky red face streaming with moisture and shaking with merriment.